This blog Haiti Solutions supports the growth of political and economic freedom, good governance and human rights in Haiti by educating Haitian citizens, parties and governments on the values and practices of democracy.

It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light

Mwen se echantiyon yon ras kap boujonnen men ki poko donnen

Si vous voulez vous faire des ennemis essayer de changer les choses

Thursday, May 5, 2011

President Rene Preval and his ruling party INITE were voted out of office in the November 28 and March 20 elections. Since being elected in 2006, they have failed to deliver for the Haitian people, and the regime was marred by corruption. Haitians resoundingly voted for change. But, of course, INITE will not go quietly. They have no track record of respecting democracy, so we should not be surprised. Their efforts now are focused intensively on stealing legislative seats.

After the first round of elections in November, the ruling party tried to manipulate the results for many legislative seats and to secure a spot for their presidential candidate in the runoff despite the fact he did not receive enough votes to get there. In response to the efforts of President Preval and his allies to control and manipulate the results, the voters of Haiti stood up to defend their vote. The international community stood by them for the Presidential elections but neglected the Legislative. While the people succeeded in winning the battle on the Presidential side, Preval and INITE managed to slip through a couple of their Deputy candidates who did not win. That was the first part of Preval’s revised electoral coup. In order to move the process forward the OAS mission remained silent on these stolen seats, and they were never addressed.

On March 20 Haitians went back to the polls for the Presidential and legislative runoffs. Election day went surprisingly well with only rare spots of violence. The hope of the voters was that this time the Provisional Electoral Council (CEP), widely known to be a puppet of President Preval, and the ruling party INITE would respect their choice. They did, but only for the Presidential elections.

A month later the when the CEP finally issued the legislative results, we learn that they rigged the results stealing 37 seats in the House of Deputies and six Senate seats between the first round and the runoff. This was a shock for domestic and international observers. Political party poll watchers that were present at the tabulation center every step of the way had a handle on the preliminary results. But the results CEP released were completely different. This blatant stealing of the Parliament has enraged Haitian voters; these INITE “elected” officials cannot even set foot in their districts for fear of violent retaliation.

Outgoing President Rene Preval

This undemocratic act threatens the legitimacy of Parliament. An Organization of American States Electoral Mission has identified a list of 19 Deputies seats stolen by INITE, but has so far remained silent on the other stolen seats. The OAS issued a report that has been communicated to the government of Haiti and the CEP and encouraged them to implement their recommendations to rectify the elections, but of course, nothing has been done yet. U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy urged the State Department to take appropriate steps to convey our concern, including assessing the visa suitability and the lawful permanent status in the United States of Haitians officials who may be involved in election fraud. It is critical that the outcome of the electoral process is recognized as free and fair by the international community and, most importantly, by the Haitian people.

Meanwhile, President Elect Michel Martelly has called on President Preval and the CEP to respect the vote of the people. He added that an investigation should be launched by the appropriate Haitian institutions to find those responsible so they can be brought to justice. The people agree.

In order to definitively resolve this issue, the broad consensus among the people of Haiti is the following:

After his swearing in, President Martelly should create a commission of three members to evaluate the first and second round legislative elections with the support of domestic electoral observation organizations.

On inauguration day, May 14, he should fire the corrupt CEP and the technical members of the office BCEN.

Immediately, name a new, nonpartisan Director General for the CEP.

Consult with the sectors included in Article 289 of the Haitian Constitution to put in place a new independent CEP that will implement the recommendations of the commission and prepare and organize the senatorial and municipal elections of November 2011

13 fire fighters from Haiti led by Chief Ardouin Zephirin arrived in Rockville for two weeks of fire and rescue training at Montgomery County Fire Rescue Training Academy http://www.rockvilleliving.com/blog/entries/2009_05_firefighters_from_haiti

Stanley Lucas and Richard R. Bowers, Jr, Chief of the Montgomery County (MD) Fire and Rescue Service (MCFRS